Swivel-coupling.



No. 747,493." PATENTED DEG. 22, 190s.

A R. c. soRUGGs.

' SWIVEL GOUPLING.

iober C. SCHH/,ggd

far

m l/ Q Q w ER D mm @n mh. u 15W u UNITED STATES Patented December 22,1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT O. SORUGGS, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNEASSIGNMENTS,Y TO STEPHEN W. WALLACE, R. MCOONNELL, AND JOHN M.CARTWRIGHT, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, AND GEORGE A. OLIVER AND F. G.BREWSTER.

SWIVEL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 747,493, dated December22, 1903.

' Application filed November 1, 1901. Serial No. 80,790. (No model.)

.To all whom itv may concern,.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT C. SoEUGGs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Birmingham, in the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama,have invented certain new and useful' Improvements in Swivel-Couplings;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the in- Vention, such as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertainsto make and use the same. f

My invention relates to what Ihave for convenience termed my self-actingor automatic swivel-coupling; and my object is to provide means forinstantly connecting two ends of a hose or pipe in such a manner that itwill not only prevent all 'leakage at the point of union, but will alsopermit one section of the hoseto be rotated or partially rotated, ascommonly incident tothe use thereof, a very important and valuabledesideratum. 1 y

A further object is to so construct the end of my coupling contiguous tothe hose or pipe with which itis designed to couple that the end of thekhose or pipe will be reliably engaged and secured in operative vunionwith the coupling proper.

Other objects and advantages will be made fully apparent from thefollowing' specification considered vin connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in Which- Figure lis a longitudinal section of my improvedflexiblehose-conpling. Fig. 2 isa perspective detail viewthereof,showing the parts in an uncoupled condition. Fig. 3 is alongitudinal section showing the parts illustrated A in Fig. l connectedtogether in their opera- `tive position.

Fig. 4' is a longitudinal section of the female portion of my' coupling,illustrating the manner of connecting the end of the hose thereto.

For convenience of description I shall designate the essential featuresof novelty of my invention and cooperating accessories by numerals, and,referring to the numerals upon the drawings, 1 indicates the tubularbody or female portion of my invention,

which is provided upon its outer end with the beveled rim 2 and upon itsinner end with the eXteriorly-tapered Iiange 3, which is designed toenter the end of the dexible pipe or hose 4 commonly used by firedepartments, said pipe being held upon the tapered end 3 by means of theferrnle or thimble 5, the inner edge of which is threaded and adapted toengage a threaded seat provided upon the member l.

It may be stated at this time that the end of the flexible hose 4 isvery tightly drawn in position by means ofthe collar or band 6, which tssnugly upon the outer side of the hose and is drawn tightly inward bymeans of the inwardly-directed shoulder or lip 7, formed upon theferrule 5.

In -F-ig. 4, as I shall hereinafter specifically set forth, I haveillustrated the tool employed `to force the band 6 inward, so that theend of the flexible hose will be compressed thereby and forced tightlyin engagement with the tapered seat or iiange 3. 'The inwardly-bevelededge 2 is provided .in order to facilitate the introduction of thetubular member 8, the inner end of which is ,exteriorly beveled, asindicated by the numeral 9, and in order to hold said parts in unionwith each other I provide a plurality of locking-springs l0, carried bythe member l and designed to ride over the annular swell or ledge 11,formed at the proper point upon the exterior of the member 8.'

It will be understood that the lockingsprings l0 may be secured vin anypreferred way to the member 1, though I prefer to accomplish this resultby providing suitable longitudinally-disposed grooves or seats in theexterior of the body portion 1, where it is ldesired to locate a spring,the said groove or recess being of sufficient size to receive saidspring, and thus prevent it from having lateral movement. In order thatsaid springs may not move longitudinally, I so form each of said springsthat the inner ends thereof will have the inwardly-directed lugv orterminal 12, a suitable recess being formed in the body portion l toreceive said lug, as will be more clearly observed by reference to Fig.1 and other sectional views presented in the drawings. I obviate thenecessity of riveting or providing a set-screw to hold each individualspring in place by forming a swell or annual boss 13 upon the innersurface of the housing 14, and since each spring is so formed that itsinner end is increased in thickness said annular boss will engage theinclined surface of the spring, when said housing is turned home andsecured in its operative position by the inner threaded end thereofengaging with the threaded collar 15, which latter is integrally formedupon the member 1 at a proper point, so as to insure that the ferrule 5and the inner end of the housing 14 will be disposed contiguous to eachother. By this construction, just described, for holding the pluralityof lockingsprings 10 in their respective operative positions it will beseen that any of said springs may be readily removed and replaced by rstremoving the housing 14, when said springs will drop out-of theirrespective seats and may be restored or removed if broken or for otherreasons.

Upon the exterior of the male portion or member 8 I provide the movablecollar 16,

the oice of which is to ride against the in' clined faces of all of thelocking-springs and spread or move the free ends thereof outward out ofengagement with the ledge 11, and` thus disengage the said members 8 and1 from each other. The collar 16 is loosely disposed in position and islimited in its outward movement by the annular flange or rib 17, whichis threaded upon its outer surface to receive the contiguous threadedend of the ferrule 18, which latter is designed to perform a similaroice to that of the ferrule 5, inasmuch as it is designed to engage theanchoring-band 6 by means ot' the inwardly-directed lip or flange 19,and thereby insure that the end of the iiexible hose 4 will be reliablyanchored in position after it has been disposed upon the beveled seatformed upon the exterior of the outer end 2O of the member 8.

The space between the ledge 11 and the annular rib 17 is of sucientextent to permit the collar 16 to loosely play between said parts andthereby permit the collar to be moved against said rib and thus affordample room for the hooked ends of the members 10 to snap over the ledge11 and thus engage the member 8 and hold it against casual displacement.By this means myimproved coupling may be readily uncoupled. In order topre vent leakage, I provide an annular seat or groove within the member1, in which I dispose the gasket 24, of rubber or the like, the positionof said gasket being such that it will engage the beveled face 9 of theinner end of the member 8. By a proper location of the gasket 24 it willbe seen that said gasket will be engaged by said beveled end 9 and socompressed in its seat that it will be securely wedged in between themembers-8 and 8 and thereby insure that an increase of pressure withinthe pipes will only tend to make a tighter joint, since the gasket 24will be forced into the triangular space 25, formed by the beveled face9, and a contiguous bevel provided as part of. the seat for the gasket24.

In Fig. 3 the relative position of all the parts when connected togetheris clearly set forth.. The housing 14 and the ferrules 5 and 18, as wellas other parts, may be neatly polished or plated, so as to insure a neatand attractive appearance of my coupling. The outer edge of the housing14 is preferably directed inward to provide the annular flange 26,designed to inclose and protect from View the locking-springs lO-andother parts.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated the manner of connecting my coupling to theflexible hose with which it is designed to cooperate. In order to drawthe end of the pipe 4 upon the beveled seat 3, I provide the instrumentor tool comprising the substantially U-shaped body portion 27, theextreme ends of which are provided with the inwardly-directedhookterminals 28, each having a reduced extension 29 and a correspondingshoulder 30. I first slip over the end of the hose 4 the anchoring-band6, and then move said end upon the seat 3 so far as practicable, itbeing understood that the ferrule 5 or 18, as the case may be, isunscrewed from its seat and left loosely disposed over said hand. Theinwardly directed extensions 29 are then brought to bear upon the outeredge and upon opposite sides of the band 6, and the band is then forcedinward by means of the clampingscrew 3l, which extends through asuitable seat in the central part of the U-shaped body portion, Whilethe inner end of said screw is preferably conical and designed to fit acentrally-disposed aperture or recess in the disk or plate 32, disposedacross the open end of the housing 14. After the band has been forcedinward sufliciently to draw the end of the hose upon the seat 3 theferrule 5 or 18 is then turned home upon its threaded seat, whichinsures that the inwardly-directed lip 7 will engage the band 6 and holdit in its adj usted position, when the clamping instrument comprisingthe U-shaped body portion 27 may be removed. In like manner the flexiblehose may be released from its tapered seat 3 by again using saidinstrument to force the band 6 inward suiiciently to permit the ferruleto be unscrewed, and as this operation of separating the hose from theend of the coupling is obviously clear further description is deemedunnecessary.

It will be understood that while my improved swivel-coupling isprimarily designed for use in connection with tire-department hose, itmay be, as herein specified, very easily adapted for all the varioususes for which such a coupling may be desirable.

The various portions may be formed of any preferred material and of anydesired size,

IIO

and while I have described the preferred construction and combination ofparts it will be understood that I desire to comprehend in thisapplication all substantial equivalents and substitutes that may beconsidered to fall fairly within the scope and purview of my invention.

It will be further observed that a very important result follows the useof the construction herein presented, inasmuch as the locking-springslO, as indicated in Fig. 1 and other views, will freely move upon thevertical face of the rib or ledge 11, and'thus permit l[he coupling tobe freely turned. at this point without danger of any leakage following,inasmuch as the rubber gasket 24 is so tightly compressed between theinner end of the member 8 and the gasket-seat that the escape of the uidwithin the pipes will be absolutely prevented.

Believing that the advantages and manner of using myimproved automaticswivel-coupling will be made fully apparent from the foregoingspecification considered in connection with the accompanying drawings,further reference to the details is deemed unnecessary.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a swivel-coupling of the character described, the male and femaleportion; means for connecting said portions to their respectivehose-section, one of said portions being provided with an annular ledgeand the other with a plurality of locking-springs removably inserted andfrictionally held at one end and engaged between their ends by saidledge and designed to ride over and engage said ledge, and a housinginclosing said springs, said housing having upon its inner surface anannular boss, as set forth.

2. In a swivel-coupling of the character d escribed, t-he combinationwith a member having longitudinally disposed grooves in its outer walland recesses at the inner end thereof springs having lugs removablyheldin said recesses; a housing having threaded engagement with saidmember and having an annular internal boss to engage said springs neartheir lug ends, anda coupling member having an annular ledge and amovable collar adjacent thereto substantially as'herein shown anddescribed.

3. In a swivel-coupling of the character described, the combination witha member having longitudinally-disposed grooves in' its outer Wall andrecesses at the inner end thereof 5 springs havinglugs removably held insaid recesses; a housing having threaded engagement with said member andhaving an annular internal boss to engage said springs near their lugends, and a coupling member having an annular ledge anda movable collaradjacent thereto; a ferrule and an annular rib thereon, substantially asherein shown and described.

In testimony whereof I aX my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

ROBERT C. SCRUGGS.

Witnesses:

W. H. Moss, R. A. MAYNARD.

